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It's been a while since we took a trip as a family. My wife and I took one for our Anniversary back in May, but we didn't do a whole lot and the food was pretty good at the hotel we stayed at. Plus there was a Panera close and that is always good for me.

Anyways....

We were gone for two days and two nights. One night was at an Aunt an Uncles house and the other was at my cousins house.

The second night at my cousins, she made a really good meal and it really helped confirm that some of things I'm afraid to do are silly. Because I felt great. Even two days after that meal I was feeling really well. I think part of that is being away from home and not having to worry about cooking and cleaning up myself.

But here are a few things I saw her do that I have never done in the last 5 years of following this diet and getting better. First off, when she made her brown rice. She didn't strain it. OH GASP. And it was just cheap ole Wally world Brown rice. Secondly, she thawed out her fish outside, not in the fridge. I have no idea for how long, and I didn't want to ask. I was a little concerned, but I just went along with the program. I tried to do that as well as possible without being too anal and needling. I did ask her if she cleans up well after touching raw meat. And she was all good with that. She also understood that I'm in a super anal time right now. But she didn't change her routine for me. She just was being safe as she knew it. Which was good enough, I believe.

Thirdly, her idea of veggies was sweet potatoes. So we had rice and sweet potatoes for our sides. hehehhehehe. A little bit of starch with your starch. ;D She did put pea pods in the rice though. With some cashews. And the cashews had cottonseed oil on them. AAAAh.

But really, I ate that meal, and I ate a good portion of it, and I felt fine. In fact, I felt really good.

Another thing got me to thinking. She's a B (she doesn't follow the btd but she has in laws that do, so she knows about it). But from my experience, B's like their oils. I mean, when she made the rice, she plopped 2 tablespoons of butter into 1-1/2 cups of rice. She did think she was going to make 2 cups, but she didn't have that much and realized after she had the water going. Which was fine with me because it was all gloppy and ploppy. Just the way I love it. In fact, it was sooooooo good. And you should've seen how much oil she used on the sweet potatoes. She made them on the grill, so she probably figured she needed to. Plus, she's a B. I cut up 4 big ones and I bet she poured on 3 tablespoons of Olive Oil over those. With salt and pepper. They were good too though.

So, it hit me, my SWAMI says 7 tablespoons of oil a week. And I pretty much follow that. But I wonder sometimes if it's just not enough. I don't know. Some say oils really help the brain. And I have to admit, I had less anxiety on this trip than I had in a while. I don't know why. Maybe it was lack of stress. Or maybe it was the fact that I was trying my hardest to not be OCD/Germaphobic and trust that they are healthy when they cook, so I need to just go with their program.

So anyways, I ate a starchy meal WITH Salmon she grilled. That is rice and sweet potatoes. I didn't eat a ton of sweet potatoes, but I had a good amount. And I had even more of the rice and peas and nuts. It was sooooo good. All that butter. hehehehhe. All those oils, all that starch and salmon caught from Lake Michigan that I thought for sure was going to make me ill. Because I had some about 4 years ago from Michigan that did. And the whole thawing out thing. AND she didn't even use a thermometer when cooking. It was done perfectly though. I think if I was eating poultry, I would've insisted. But I wasn't. She did make my son Chicken though, because he's highly allergic to fish.

What a blessing it was. It helped me relax. It was a great meal. And she cooked very well. And she accommodated my son, because the rest of us had fish. She is a good cousin.

I was really hungry and could've kept eating, but I waited for a late night snack to eat more of that rice stuff. That was another thing too, I ate leftovers and used the microwave. Hehehehe. I'm not saying I'll use the microwave at home, but I was trying to do things I normally don't just to see. I also had salmon the next morning. I nuc'ed that too, but that was only because I wanted to kill germs if there were any. Which there probably weren't. I really should've tried it cold. Because I have to say, one of my favorite ways to eat any meat is left over cold. And I haven't done it lately because I've been so OCD/Germaphobic. That'll be my next area to conquer. Because I really love meat that way.

Anyways.... Long post, I know. Thank you for listening if you did.

But I would like to get some of your input on these practices that I noticed. I know most people eat starches with their meals, so that one I'm not as concerned about. Plus we've talked about it before and if you're going to eat grains with meat, fish is probably the best for that.

But not rinsing her rice? Cheap rice. Thawing frozen fish out not in the fridge. How could I have survived. I know my Mom has been thawing meat out that way forever. All the oils. Good or bad? That's another thing just like my Mom. She's a B too and man does she love her oils.

What says you all?

Posted by: Goldie, Wednesday, September 5, 2012, 10:47pm; Reply: 1

I can not eat starchy foods at all or I suffer from them..

Posted by: JJR, Wednesday, September 5, 2012, 10:49pm; Reply: 2

Yikes. I eat sweet potatoes and rice regularly. Just not at the same meal. But like I said, nary a problem that night.

Posted by: Averno, Wednesday, September 5, 2012, 11:04pm; Reply: 3

These "forays" into the wild are very centering for us hermit types. I'm glad to hear it went so well!

Posted by: cajun, Thursday, September 6, 2012, 12:45am; Reply: 4

Just like you said...lessons learned. The world didn't end and you feel ..good! :D

Posted by: Chloe, Thursday, September 6, 2012, 1:09am; Reply: 5

Glad you had a good time and that everything worked out well with your visit...I don't use a poultrythermometer...I just go by time per pound...and never had a problem with the results. I sometimes rinse rice...other times I forget to...and in the end, the world never came to an end for me either.

Guess you learned that lightening up is okay....that you can feel good even though you're not in control of a meal....the kitchen. It's great that you trusted your cousin and even better that you hada wonderful experience. Good job :)

Maybe you should take trips more often. Seems to have done you a world of good!

Posted by: Victoria, Thursday, September 6, 2012, 3:18am; Reply: 6

Sounds like celebrations are in order for such a successful little 'vacation'! :D

That's wonderful news and sometimes reality checks are necessary to shake us out of our mind sets that have ceased to serve us any more.

I don't ever mix grains with meat or poultry, but I do eat sweet potatoes with salmon or sardines (and peas). I'll eat cream of rice or rice cakes with eggs or almond butter.

I've never used a meat thermometer and wouldn't even know how to do it. I thaw meat and fish in the fridge, but my mother and grandmother and aunt just left it on the counter and none of us ever got sick from it. I think they were more aware of it than they appeared to be.

Posted by: Joyce, Thursday, September 6, 2012, 8:37am; Reply: 7

Well done JJR - so glad you had a good time :)

I don't believe in sticking anything into cooking meat - one is too likely to introduce bugs by doing that IMO!

Brown rice - I wash it before cooking and usually soak it for an hour or 2 - but never rinse afterwards - that just washes out the minerals.

Victoria is soooo right about the "happiness" factor :)

Posted by: rosa, Thursday, September 6, 2012, 10:37am; Reply: 8

Hi JJR,it seems to me that food made with love and good intention can only do us some good :)...I remember my mother (passed away 7yrs ago..)who was so wonderful and loving who used to cook chicken especially for me when I went to visit as I was a vegetarian back then..she hadn´t realised of course that chicken is a meat!! but I never had the heart to tell her..and for some strange reason I always enjoyed anything she cooked..

The lesson is that sometimes we need to ´let go´ and enjoy the food,love, and company provided by those close to us...its good to break out of our comfort zones now and again....

Posted by: JJR, Thursday, September 6, 2012, 4:23pm; Reply: 9

Thanks for the responses!!

It was a good trip. I was thanking God for the time. Well, everything about it.

Another thing I always do is skim my rice. Of course she didn't do that. Supposedly those are the "impurities", according to the Noursishing Traditions book. But that book has you soaking grains, so I don't know if that makes skimming that much more of a good thing to do.

Do you guys skim your rice?

Another thing got me thinking, I just bought some Bob's Red Mill quick oats. I usually buy the regular Old Fashioned. But I wanted to try the quick ones. It seems like if you rinse those, maybe more of the oat stuff will go down the drain because some of it is pretty finely ground up. What do you guys think about that?

I always wash my meat thermometers really well before using. Plus, I would think the heat would kill germs, but I hear what you're saying about introducing more bacteria possibly. Fact is, I need to relax about this stuff more, but the meat temperature thing might be a little hard for me to get over. For some reason I wasn't worried that much about the fish though. Although I remember eating raw ground beef when we were kids too. I think it was a popular thing back then. They called it "wildcat". You'd put it on crackers. with some onions. Mmmmmmmmmmm..... Not sure if it was very good for you, but it sure tasted good.

Posted by: deblynn3, Thursday, September 6, 2012, 4:43pm; Reply: 10

I always thought of sweet potatoes as a starch as well, however, they are listed as a "live food" on my swami. And green beans (snap, string) are under vegetable proteins. There is a big portion size change for me because of this.

I never rinsed my rice until I started BTD, (always before it's cooked) I was told it washes some of the starch and would make it less sticky, if you like sticky rice you don't rinse. I cook my rich in a rice cooker and there usually isn't any water left. I washed my beans because sometimes there would be sand. I personally can't tell the difference.

...Another thing I always do is skim my rice. Of course she didn't do that. Supposedly those are the "impurities", according to the Noursishing Traditions book. But that book has you soaking grains, so I don't know if that makes skimming that much more of a good thing to do.

Do you guys skim your rice?

Although I remember eating raw ground beef when we were kids too. I think it was a popular thing back then. They called it "wildcat". You'd put it on crackers. with some onions. Mmmmmmmmmmm..... Not sure if it was very good for you, but it sure tasted good.

What is "skimming"?

I wouldn't eat ground anything these days, though that was apparently not the case a few years ago. In case you missed it from google on dear Julia's birthday: